The 21 most valuable soccer / football players on the planet right now

One of the biggest finance firms in the world has put together a huge list that ranks the most valuable soccer players on the planet.

Some of the most familiar names in sports feature, including FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Paris Saint-Germain goalscorer Neymar, and Juventus FC striker Cristiano Ronaldo — but in what order?

KPMG, a provider of audit, tax and advisory services in Europe, calculated the market value of soccer players by using an algorithm that considered multiple variables, including:

Contract (athletes with longer contracts at their clubs of employment would command larger transfer fees, in theory)
Individual sports performance (goals, assists, dribbles, tackles, and other statistical data was considered when assessing a player’s worth on the pitch)
Team performance and characteristics (sporting results, league competitiveness, and financial aspects of the club were also key in determining player valuations)
Team dependence (how important is the given player to his team)
KPMG said in a note that there is a major difference between “price” and “value.” It said: “Price is what a person pays for a given product or service, whilst value is what any given product or service is worth.”

It added: “Actual transfer fees in football are often distorted by several factors such as terms and conditions of the specific financial/sporting situation of the seller or the buyer at the time of a transaction, the willingness of a player to leave or join a club, league-specific rules and regulations, and terms of release clauses.”

With that in mind, here are the 21 most valuable soccer players in KPMG’s list, ranked in ascending order.